


The misunderstanding

by Zoya113



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Drug Mentions, F/M, This was made for ourfandomcrazyuniverse so I took all her hcs lmao esp Ali cat again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24769486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoya113/pseuds/Zoya113
Summary: Alice thinks she’s seen something she hasn’t, and it takes a hell of a lot of clearing up to reassure her, especially when she won’t talk about it
Relationships: Alice & Ethan Green, Ethan Green/ Lex Foster
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	The misunderstanding

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ourfandomcrazyuniverse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ourfandomcrazyuniverse/gifts).



> If I messed this up I’ll die lmao

When Alice was back in Hatchetfield, she usually spent her first day back at home - exhausted from the rest of the month with her mother away from her girlfriend. On an average week back she’d at least spend a day with her dad at home first before leaping back to hanging out with her Deb and her friends. 

This week was different though, Ethan had told her he really needed to see her on Saturday. That was odd because he knew her rule, so she assumed it had to be very important. 

Maybe she could spend Sunday with her dad instead. 

On the bus ride over the bridge into Hatchetfield she was wondering what it was he wanted her for. He wasn’t really the kind to ask for help from her so she had figured perhaps it was a surprise! Maybe this ‘urgent errand’ was a tricky way of sneaking her out of the house to go see a movie or get lunch. That sounded a lot more like him. 

She laughed to herself at the idea, allowing it to bounce around in the back of her head and weigh out the consequences on her own. 

She chose something nice to wear just in case he had pulled a fast one on her. She was quite excited too, and had brought some extra money with her just in case. She knew Ethan didn’t have the most spending money so perhaps she could surprise him back by being just one step ahead.

However as she reached the meeting point at Lakeside mall, she was surprised to see Lex was standing right there with him, hand in hand. 

“Hi, guys,” she still smiled. Maybe it actually was an errand thing after all. 

“Hey, Ali cat!” Ethan’s hand left Alex’s to pat her on the back before gesturing for the two girls to follow after him. “What’re you all dressed up for? I’m glad you made it on time though!” He was a little too hyped up to talk much it seemed, and he hurried along on his way, his longer legs easily sending Lex and Alice into a brisket walk just to keep up. 

“What’s he so happy about?” Alice asked Lex.

“I dunno! He just told me it was lunch!” She snorted, energised already by the mystery of it. 

She weaved in between all the other mall-goers, thinking to herself. Lunch wasn’t an errand, so why’d he tell her that? And why did Lex get something completely different?

When they caught up with Ethan, he stuck out one hand to grab Lex’s shoulder and stop her before she could crash into him. “Hey, Alice, take a look,” he pointed at bright red signpost inside a nearby clothing store and while Lex whipped around to see what it was, Alice was still a bit too confused to take a look and in that split second when she was the only one facing him - he winked. “That skirt you were talking about is on sale, isn’t it?” 

“Oh, yes!” She got it now, it seemed she was the one in the know for once. Not Lex. “That’s the one I think!” She confirmed, waiting for further instructions.

“Lex why don’t you take her to go check it out? I’m just gonna,” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Go check out this guys store anyways.” He didn’t wait to see if Lex believed him and hurried off.

She chuckled, trying to take the lead here. “Yeah, Lex, come with me! I’ll show you the skirt!” 

“Sure!” She agreed, “off we go to our gals store,” she joked. “Show me this skirt.”

The red sign however, while it was in fact marking a sale, was for a sweater. 

“Wow. Weird looking skirt,” Lex snorted, picking it up to look at it. “I’m guessing this is not what you were looking for,” she commented, glancing around just in case the skirts were in fact somewhere else. 

Alice nodded. “Yeah, yeah! I’ll show you where they are, don’t worry.” But she managed to steal a glance over her shoulder, curious to see what shop he had actually gone off to. Maybe Lex was the one getting a surprise! That was very romantic of him. 

Wait, though. Ethan hadn’t gone to any shop at all. She only had a second to look just so she wouldn’t stir up any suspicion with Lex. But Ethan was standing back in the centre of the court, and he was handing someone a thin wad of money.  
She froze as Ethan shook the man’s hand before tucking something into his pocket. 

“Hey, if you wrinkle it you gotta buy it,” Lex clapped her on the shoulder with a snicker, and that was when she realised how tight her hands were gripping at the sweater and with a gasp she dropped it back to the pile. 

“Oh!” She did her best to fold it back up. “I zoned out,” she stammered, making a beeline further into the store so it at least seemed like she knew where she was going before Lex asked another question. She just had to gather herself for a second. 

Surely not. Ethan had not just made a deal out there had he? Well she had only seen that sort of thing in movies and books, the expensive price, the secret handshake, the pocketing of the wins. She risked another look, and Ethan was back to waiting by the wall where they had split up. His eyes were flitting around, double checking his surroundings. 

“Oh, you know,” Alice drawled, coming to a horrified slow. “I don’t think they have the skirt here anymore.” She answered, overcome with a sudden, unbearable urge to maybe just go home and try again tomorrow. 

This is why she spends Saturday’s with her dad. 

“Oh. Hah,” Lex shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. “Ethan just doesn’t know what he’s talking about probably,” she turned back around, her eyes growing fond when she saw him standing out there. “What a dumbass,” she grinned. 

“Oh, done already?” He asked, addressing Alice more than Lex. “How was the skirts?” He asked sort of stiffly. 

Alice couldn’t even reply, she just took a step back from him. Why was he being so suspicious? 

“Well the skirt looked an awful lot like a jumper, dude,” Lex chimed in for her. “And how was the guys store?” She quipped.

“Oh, they didn’t have what I was looking for,” he let out a sigh that was almost theatrical in nature. 

Alice began to wring her hands, the thoughts racing through her brain were tuning out whatever they were joking about now. She was just mindlessly following after them, on total autopilot.   
You weren’t allowed to do that, and that made him a criminal, and if she was hanging out with him didn’t that make her guilty by association? Or something? No, it didn’t, it just made her suspicious too. Maybe she just should’ve minded her own business. 

She picked up her pace a little, forcing her horrified expression into something more smiley. “Hey Ethan?” She whispered, hoping the shaking of her hands wouldn’t betray her. “What was that about?” She asked. 

He glanced down at her, flashing her a grin. “Oh that’s a secret. You wouldn’t be interested.” 

Ethan! He was not helping his own case!   
“I wouldn’t?” She bit down on her lips. “I wouldn’t because it’s a secret or I wouldn’t because like, it’s a secret secret?” She gave him one more chance to correct himself. 

“It’s just none of your business,” he laughed, raising an eyebrow at her interrogation. “Why do you look so scared?” His other hand ducked back into its pocket. “You’re going all pale.” 

“I’m fine!” She yelped, she didn’t want him getting suspicious of her suspicions, so she shook her head. 

“Oh good, ready for lunch? It’s on me!” He was in a particularly good mood, like he had just gotten away with something. Or maybe that was just her paranoia kicking in. She knew Ethan, and Ethan wouldn’t do something like that, right? 

But still, what if? There was a big difference drugs and armed robbery, especially when Ethan already smoked weed. 

They found a table in the food court, right away in the corner. This wasn’t a hiding place was it? Where no one looking for him could see him so easily, so that if-

“Not hungry?” Ethan asked, gesturing at her uneaten meal. 

“Yeah you gonna finish that?” Lex added, licking her lips.

She didn’t have an appetite at all, she opened her mouth but her throat was too dry to speak clearly, so she just pushed her food to the centre of the table and Ethan and Lex came down on it like vultures. 

“So!” Ethan wiped a hand over his lips. “A successful day out!” 

Lex elbowed him. “Yes, I too consider eating lunch a successful day,” she confirmed. “So that’s it? Where going home now?” 

“Yes, yes! That’s a good idea, we’re all done here right?” She pushed her chair out, it’s legs screeching across the cheep linoleum tiling. “I should probably be at home with my dad anyways!” She confirmed. 

“Oh really? I thought we could go to a few more shops!” Ethan frowned. “But hey, I can’t get between you and your dad it seems. You’ve cut me deep, Alice.” He let out an over dramatic groan. “I see where we stand.”

“Oh my god, stop it, Ethan,” Lex groaned too, shoving him as she stood up. “Look, she’s already feeling bad about going home don’t make it any worse,” she explained for him since he was clearly not reading into the situation right. “C’mon. We’ll give you a lift back home.” 

Ethan sighed. “Alright then, babe. Fun’s over. Welp. I’ve done what I have to get done anyways,” he clapped his hands together, leading the way back to the carpark.

She was a little slower walking than she would have expected. She felt stiff and unsure. She knew her friend and no amount of justification could make sense of anything she had seen back there. Had he done it or was it something else?

“Hey,” Lex slowed down to her pace too, nudging her. “Don’t worry about Ethan,” she assured her.

“Huh?” Alice gulped. “Worrying? I wasn’t-“

“It’s okay, I already know what’s up,” she nodded with a toothed grin. “He only gets this excited when he’s gone and done it again,” she gave a loud, affectionate sigh. “He’s making such a huge deal about it, it’s so obvious,” she rolled her eyes, amused. 

“Obvious?” Alice’s eyes darted around. Did someone already know? Could they tell? She slowed down yet again, desperate not to get tangled up in anything if he was caught. The lakeside mall never did bag checks, but all of a sudden she had an unrelenting fear the cops were waiting outside already and knew it all.

“Oh well,” she shrugged. “He does it all the time. He’s getting more conspicuous at least, I guess,” she laughed out loud. “Why do you think he brought you along? Instead of like, Deb or Sof or Danny?” She pointed out. 

Huh? Was she just being used? And was Lex in on it? She clutched at her heart as it skipped a beat. Oh man. Oh shoot. She was a decoy. An unwilling accomplice. She was dressed nicely today after all, if there was any suspicion surely she’d brush it all away. It was a matter of prejudice, and she was Ethan’s facade. Why else had he brought her along? He hadn’t told her about the lunch after all. Maybe he-

“You don’t look so good, Alice,” Ethan broke her train of thought off, she had zoned out again. 

“Ah!” She clutched at Lex’s shoulder before letting go, Lex was just as bad if she was involved too wasn’t she? Oh man, she was away three out of four weeks a month anyways, she had no clue what these guys all got up to!

“Alice?” Ethan repeated, his face softening. “Yeah, alright. Come on. We’ll drive you home. It’s a good thing we took Lex’s car huh?” 

She sat in the back seat, eyes scanning the roads as they drove, her blood rushing to her ears, her heart in her throat. When they drove past a police car she nearly threw up. She just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

“Hey, are we all good if I drop Lex home first? I’ll drive you around to your place Alice and then I’ll come back here,” Ethan made eye contact with her for a second in his rear view mirror as he detoured from her road home. “You should get home to your sister first. It’s been long enough,” Ethan added to Lex.

Oh this was it. He knew she had seen and now she had to be forced into silence, well, no, she was scared but she didn’t think he’d kill her, the more logical side of her brain pointed out. Ethan didn’t know she knew, and if he did he wouldn’t harm her. Yes. He was probably just going to explain it, try and convince her it was no big deal, and if anything, just make sure she didn’t tell on him. 

Ugh. She felt sick. 

“Bye, Alice, lie down when you get home okay?” Lex waved as she grabbed her backpack from the floor of the car, giving her a smile along with her concerned eyes. “

Well, at least Lex knew she’d make it home alive.

She swallowed hard as they backed up.  
Whatever was going to happen was going to happen now. 

And yet Ethan was just sitting in the front seat, humming along to the radio with this giddy smile on his face. “Thanks for the help today, Ali cat,” he took his eyes off the road for a moment to give her a smile, one that usually made her laugh or smile along with him, a sort of heart warming one that could win anyone over. 

But not this time. 

“No, Ethan!” She put her foot down for herself. “I don’t wanna be part of this!”

“Huh?” He almost did a double take, his hands tightening around the car wheel so he didn’t crash. “What?” He looked crestfallen. 

“I said I don’t wanna be involved, Ethan, I didn’t know you-“ she couldn’t finish her sentence. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say.

“Well, I knew you wanted to be with your dad today but I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” he frowned. “You could’ve said no if you wanted, I didn’t think it was that important. I’m really sorry, Alice.” He quieted down. 

“No? I would’ve said no if I knew what you were doing!” She snapped through gritted teeth. “I saw what you did!”

“Huh?” He blinked, she could only see his eyes in the rear view mirror. “Lex’s thing?” 

At least it hurt just a little less to know it was for Lex and not her closer friend. But that didn’t fix things! “Well whatever you were doing back there! I want nothing to do with it.”

“Oh, Lex isn’t bugging you already is she?” Then he started to laugh again. “Man. Maybe I should’ve brought Danny instead. He could probably cop it. She means no harm you know, she just doesn’t like to be surprised.”

Her brain slowed down again as she licked her chapped lips. “I don’t get it. What’s the surprise? She already knows what you’ve done?” She wasn’t shouting anymore but she wasn’t done being angry, and still far from being finished with her confusion. 

“Ah shit,” he bumped his hand on the steering wheel. “You’re kidding. Do you think she’ll like it?”

“Well.” That was a strange question. “I thought she was more of a weed person,” she fiddled with her fingers. 

“What’s this got to do with weed?” Ethan gave an unsure laugh. “You think I should just get her weed for her birthday?” 

It was then that Alice almost choked. Lex’s birthday was this Friday. She hadn’t been thinking of that just yet. “It wasn’t- you didn’t-?” She could just feel that cold relief coming her way now, enough for her to finally say it. “That deal wasn’t cocaine?” 

He paused, listening to her words and letting them process as a slow, sympathetic whine drawled from his lips. It was almost condescending, it was the sound you make when you see a baby puppy. But it turned into a laugh next and he shrugged his shoulders and slumped back down into his seat, much more relaxed now. “Alice. That wasn’t coke. Are you kidding?” He pulled over as they came into her street 

“It wasn’t?” Well now she just seemed like a fool. “It was a bit of tricky metal work I got commissioned for Lex’s birthday,” he put an elbow on the back of his seat to lean around and face her. “I brought you along because you were the least suspicious person to distract her for me! If I just didn’t bring her she’d know, she knows everything! I thought this’d work for sure!”

“Oh, Ethan!” She let out a whine. He couldn’t have been any more suspicious! She threw her around his shoulders in relief, pressing her head into the back of the car seat with a mumbled moan. “You scared me!”

“Alice! Don’t freak out, there is no coke in this car, promise,” he assured her, taking the small bag out of his pocket to prove it to her. “Me and a buddy did it together,” he dropped the necklace from its bag. “She isn’t really a ring person so this ring I got for her ages ago was gonna he a total waste! So I found someone making necklaces and we designed one for her to put the ring on,” he explained, letting Alice fiddle with the chain. “Besides, I’d never do anything like that. Who do you take me for?” He scolded playfully, pulling back in mock disgust. “Never in front of you, anyways!” He laughed.

“Ethan!” She groaned, swatting his shoulder.

“I’m kidding! I’m kidding!” He promised, holding his hands up in defence. “Thanks for helping out today, even if she does already know. It was fun to have you along anyways,” he tucked the necklace back into its brown bag, giving that giddy laugh again. 

Well now she felt bad for cutting their hangout so short. “Oh I’m so sorry Ethan! That was so rude of me to think!” 

“Hey it’s okay. I’m not offended, I’m very much enthused. Lex is gonna think this is so funny!” 

“Hey!” She batted around him again. “Don’t tell Lex!” 

“Okay, alright. Just between us, I promise!” He crossed his heart with one finger. “But you should get out now. Lex knows how long a drive is back home so she probably already knows I’ve told you what it is. She’s gonna spend all Monday bullying you into telling her what it is.”

“Oh, I promise I won’t tell her Ethan,” she swore, shaking her head frantically in an attempt to redeem herself for her unfair assumptions. “I promise I can keep it a secret until Friday, she won’t get anything out of me!” She unlocked the car door to hurry out, not wanting to risk it anyways. She didn’t want him speeding.

“Hey, it’s okay. I trust you, Ali cat,” he called to her as she was walking away. And he gave her that smile again, and this time, she smiled too.


End file.
